Clothesline clamp



W. KLAAS.

CLOTHESLINE CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17, 1922.

1,483,829 Patented (ml 311, 1922.

Patented Oct. 31 1922.

UNITED stares WILLIAM KLAA, 0F BELVIDERE, ILLINOIS.

ono'rnnsLmn CLAMP.

Application filed April 17, 1922. Serial No. 554,042.

To all to 710m it/may concern:

Be it known that I, YVILLTAM KLAAs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Belvidere, in the county of Boone and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Clothesline Clamp, of which the following is a specifica-tioi'i.

This invention relates to clothes line clamps or holders of that type having a clamping member pivoted to a base member and adapted for clamping a. line against said base member by the pulling force exerted by the weight on the line. i

The chief object of the present invention is to provide an improved clothes line clamp of the character described, designed for clamping either one or two l nes by the pull of either or both of said lines.

Another object is to provide a dual line clamp having novel means for guiding the lines and preventing, them from being d splaced or slipping from between the clamp parts.

i I have also aimed to provide as an article of manufacture a dual line clamp constructed in. such novel manner as to be capable of production at a low cost, and which will serve in a practical and satisfactory manner the purposes intended.

Referring to the drawing,-

Figure 1 is a front view of a dual clothes line clamp embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the clamp; and

Fig. 3 a front view of the base plate part.

My improved line clamp consists in its preferred embodiment of ibut two parts, namely, abase plate and a; clamping lever designated generally by 5 and 6, respectiv ely. The base plate may be rigidly secured to any supporting part, such as a side wall, post or the like, by any suitable means, as for example wood screws (not shown) adapted to be passed through the screw holes 7 at the ends of the base plate. The media-l portion of said plate is shaped to reach forwardly to provide saddles 8 upon which the clamping lever is fulcrumed. These saddles are separated by an elonojated opening 9 through the base plate for the passage of said clamping lever. On the lower portion of said plate is formed a pair of laterally spaced, forwardly projecting line-retaining lugs 11,, and intermediate and below said lugs a forwardly projecting stop lug 12.

The clamping lever 6 is shaped to provide intermediate its end ing 9 by turning the clamping lever at right angles to the base plate'so as to bring said trunnion portion into alignment with said opening. The lower end 15 of the clamping lever is enlarged laterally so as to occupy substantially the entire space between the lugs 11 and is shaped to provide a recessed line-clamping surface 16 complemental to a clainpinp surface on the base plate. The upper end of said clamping lever is likewise laterally enlarejed and shaped to provide a pair of lineuidin recesses 17, which are defined at their outer sides by upwardly extended ears 18.

The present clamping device is adapted for clamping either one or two leads of a rope line and is especially desirable as a dual line clamp as it enables stringing a line back and forth in the customary manner and insures a positive support for both leads of the line at each point of attachment to a support. In the example illustrated in Fig. l, the line indicated in dotted lines by 19 is looped beneath the stop lug 12 and the two leads 21 and 22 pass upwardly beneath the clamping surface 16 of the lever 6 and are continued upwardly at both sides of the neck portion 18 of said lever, and thence over the upper end of said lever so as to reach forwardly through the guide recesses 17. It will be manifest that the line may be easily applied and that both lines will be clamped to the base plate by reason ofthe forward pull on the. upper end of the lever caused by the weight or load on either one or both of the horizontal reaches of the line. It will be observed that the breaking of either one of these reaches will not disturb the effect of the clamping lever on the other, providing such other line is under tension or carries a load. It will also be observed that in the event both lines are slackened. they will be stopped from pulling through the clamp by the stop lugi 12, which intercepts the looped end of the line. The present construction also enables slack to be taken from either one or both of the lines, simply by pulling down on the respective line beneath the clamping lever. These advantages are especially desirable in practice not only in the use of my improvements for supporting clothes lines but for any line or linesregardless oi" the purpose for which they are used.

It is believed that the foregoing conveys a clear understamling of the objects prefaced above and it should be understood that changes might be made: in details of cmistructinn without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as exressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A dual clothes lineclanip comprising a base plate adapted to be attached to a Support. a pair of laterally spaced forwardly 'u'ojecting line-retaining lugs on the lower portion of said plate. a forwardly projecting stop lug on the plate below said lugs, and a clamping lever pivoted intermediate its ends on said plate above said lugs and having a lower clamping end d'sposed between said two lines against the base plate with one line disposed at each side of the pivot portion of said lever, said lines passing upwardly beh nd the lever and adapted to be drawn forwardly over the top thereoi and said top end being recessed for guiding both lines, and a. forwardly projecting stop lug on the base plate below said lever for intercepting the junction of said two lines.

WILLIAM KLAAS." 

